


See Through

by katsubakudeku



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aromantic, Awkwardness, College AU, Complicated Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Getting to Know Each Other, Humor, Jealousy, KakaYama - Freeform, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, NaruSasu - Freeform, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Character, Pining, Polyamory, SasuNaru - Freeform, Service Animals, ShikaTema, Slow Burn, We Die Like Men, kakairu - Freeform, kankukiba, kkir, narugaa - Freeform, relationships, sns, so much gay, unconventional ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:00:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22157425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katsubakudeku/pseuds/katsubakudeku
Summary: Gaara, a self-proclaimed aromantic, finds himself falling for Naruto, an exuberant blonde with a painfully contagious smile who is still hung up on his ex-boyfriend, Sasuke. Kankuro develops a crush on a soccer-playing dog-lover who isn't even into dudes, their worlds colliding by pure chance.A story about finding (and maybe even losing) love when you least expect it.Sand Sibling-centric College AU. Primary pairings: Naruto/Gaara, Kankuro/Kiba, Naruto/Sasuke
Relationships: Deidara/Kankurou (Naruto), Gaara/Hidan, Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka/Yamato | Tenzou, Inuzuka Kiba/Kankurou, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 9
Kudos: 52





	1. Intro

Gaara identifies as aromantic, and has never had an interest in romantic relationships. This overwhelming aversion to love is rooted in his childhood trauma involving his parents, something he doesn’t like to talk about often, if at all. His mother died from complications when he was born prematurely, and his father tried to murder him for unknown reasons when he was only 6 years old. If not for his older siblings, Temari and Kankuro, Rasa may have succeeded in his attempt. Now, their father is spending 20 years in prison. With a lack of parental guidance or close family to contact, the siblings were thrust into the foster care system for a short time, until their uncle was found out of the blue. Temari and Kankuro were wary of this uncle, having only met him once shortly after Gaara was born when they were both very young. Gaara, however, believed things would be alright. It was their mother’s brother, after all. And even though he never truly met or knew his mother, Gaara had always been told that she loved him unconditionally, so surely someone so closely related to her couldn’t be that bad, right?

It was only two months before the three siblings were back in the system and struggling to find families that would take all three of them in. Unfortunately, Gaara and Kankuro were split up from Temari when the latter was adopted by a wealthy couple from Arizona. Temari tried to question why her brothers would not be coming with her, but she never received an answer, and any refusal to be separated from her brothers was ignored. They went without contact for several years—Gaara and Kankuro stuck in Nevada, jumping from home to home, while Temari tried to get used to being an only child.

During the time they spent apart, Gaara was shown love and compassion only by Kankuro. Things were difficult for the brothers at first though, because Gaara was incredibly troubled, often turning violent due to anger issues that were rooted in his past traumas. This left Kankuro quite scared of him, but he never shied away because he knew the pain his younger brother was experiencing. Gaara’s anger, violence, and night terrors made it extremely hard for them to find stable home life, their foster families often saying Gaara was unmanageable and a lost cause. The two were constantly faced with the threat of being split up, but Kankuro always refused. He knew he couldn’t let Gaara be isolated and abused by people that did not truly understand or care for him. He knew he needed to always protect his younger brother, no matter the circumstance, for they only had each other. 

Temari had a much easier time as a foster child. She was quickly adopted by a couple who had no other children. She was spoiled and given virtually anything she could have ever wanted. However, this caused her to develop the personality she has as an adult; headstrong, bossy, and demanding. Being an only child proved hard for her emotionally at times, though. She often missed her brothers, and wondered where they were and if they’d found a family like she had. She would ask her parents to find them and adopt them too, begged even, but they would always tell her it wasn’t a possibility, or that having two extra children, especially boys, would be too difficult for them.

Temari quickly picked up a knack for dance thanks to her adoptive mother being a competitive dance coach with her own studio. Temari enjoyed the activity for the most part until she was set up to compete in numerous competitions every year once she was skilled enough, advancing all the way up to the national level. It was clear her mother was living vicariously through her after she won her first national medal, pushing for Temari to practice for long periods every day from then on, even forcing her into homeschooling so she would have more hours to spend in the studio learning new routines. She won many trophies and awards for her talents, even though she was under tremendous stress and pressure to always be her very best.

Approximately 6 years ago, when he and Kankuro had seemed to finally find a relatively stable home where they felt welcomed, 13 year old Gaara turned to art as a coping mechanism and form of therapy for his anger and PTSD after he was placed into a mandatory art course in middle school. His foster family was supportive of his newfound creativity and often encouraged him to make as much art as he could because it seemed to cure his troublesome behavior. Very quickly, Gaara’s parents, teachers and peers noticed his talents were beyond his years. He was told he had the artistic ability of a decades-trained professional artist. He was able to draw and paint hyper-realistic portraits and landscapes, even without a reference. 

Although undoubtedly talented, he was still seen as the “weird art kid” by many of his fellow students, most of them confused and intimidated by his emotional vacancy and introverted nature. Gaara was rarely teased face-to-face by others out of fear that they’d bear witness to one of his uncontrollable and violent outbursts, though those had become an incredibly rare occurrence, and for that he felt lucky. He also felt lucky that Kankuro was always on guard, ready to threaten or pummel anyone who dared to even look at his baby brother the wrong way. By the time Gaara was 15, his art pieces were selling for hundreds of dollars, and he held a large exhibit spot at a local art museum where other paintings of his were on display. With the help of Instagram, he was even able to find some international buyers, his original paintings and drawings becoming incredibly popular online, gaining him almost 15,000 followers in just over six months. Due to being a minor, Gaara unfortunately hadn’t much control over the money he earned. His parents promised all of the money he was getting from his art was going to his bank account, however he knew this was most likely not true, especially with the way his parents turned defensive every time they were questioned about it. 

After several months of monetary disputes, Gaara was able to gain full control over his earnings, and after Kankuro graduated high school, the two were able to move from where they had been living in Las Vegas to a beautiful city in Northern California. Finally 18, Kankuro became Gaara’s legal guardian, freeing them both from the foster system for good. This new freedom, along with Gaara’s steadily growing Instagram fame is also what allowed Temari to find her brothers again.

Gaara had painted a portrait of her, a piece that he wholly refused to sell. A friend of Temari’s, who followed Gaara but had no idea the two were related (due to Temari having a different last name), saw an uncanny resemblance to the blonde. Upon seeing the Instagram post, Temari noticed the username— _@gaaraofthesand_ —and immediately contacted her brother, gaining a very quick response. Three days later, Temari was leaving her parents and their large, extravagant home in Arizona and moving in to a cramped studio space on the third floor of a run-down apartment building. It was on the other side of Konoha, a 15 minute drive from her brothers’ apartment, but she would take it without question if it meant she would be able to see her siblings whenever she wished.

To Kankuro and Temari’s dismay, Gaara decided to drop out of high school after the three of them were reunited. Many strongly-worded attempts were made by the elder siblings to convince the redhead otherwise, but Gaara felt as though it was unnecessary to finish school if he was already succeeding at a career in the fine arts, something that many people could only dream of doing even with an extensive education in the field.

Currently, Gaara works at a tattoo shop in downtown Konoha city alongside Sai—an artist that specializes in traditional Chinese, Japanese, and American tattoo styles, ‘Pain’—the shop’s resident piercer, and Hidan—the shop’s manager and second tattoo artist who works with black & white and greyscale tattoos. Kankuro is a full-time college student but works for the shop as well on the weekends; running the front desk, booking appointments and selling piercing jewelry and other shop-related items. During the week when he isn’t in class, Kankuro begrudgingly works at the college’s bookstore to help pay for his student loans. Temari is a part-time college student at the same university as Kankuro, and an instructor at a recreational studio. She teaches different forms of dance to young children, as well as yoga and meditation to all ages—something Gaara has grown to enjoy after Temari suckered him into trying it. 

Gaara developed an affinity for tattooing when he had his one and only tattoo done by Sai on his 18th birthday—the kanji symbol for “love”, done in red ink above his left eye. Sai was familiar with Gaara’s online presence, telling him early on after meeting that he had been a follower of his on Instagram for quite some time. Sai was the one who planted the seed into Gaara’s mind, telling him, “Your art would look wonderful on skin. If you’ve never considered becoming a tattoo artist, you should now.”

Gaara had heard this same sentiment many times from his followers in the comments on his Instagram posts, but hearing it come directly from a skilled artist like Sai filled Gaara with immense determination and inspiration. He would expand his talents and become a tattoo artist, starting the new path with a year-long apprenticeship under the supervision and expertise of Sai and Hidan. 

Upon opening up his own full-time booking schedule, Gaara’s first three months were filled instantaneously, thanks to his cult following online. He was in very high demand, and it helped that the shop Sai and Hidan ran was also relatively well known already, the shop’s owner Konan appearing on a tattoo competition show on television. Gaara had only met the woman once since starting there, her celebrity status sending her on trips and guest spots to other shops around the country and the world. Kankuro had been hired on the spot the day he’d gone to the shop with Gaara for his tattoo, the original front desk position abandoned because that person left with Konan to be her assistant on the road. Kankuro had jokingly asked if they were hiring when the vacancy was mentioned, and Hidan told him yes without a second of hesitation. Kankuro’s first shift and Gaara’s apprenticeship started only two days later.

With the shop located just off of the main street in downtown Konoha city, this left Gaara with a plethora of options for places to go on his lunch breaks. He quickly developed a routine of going to certain places on certain days of the week. The day Gaara had finally been promoted to a full-time tattoo artist, he decided he’d change things up and try to find a new restaurant to go to for his break, Sai tagging along. The quiet pair come upon a Ramen shop that neither of them have seen before, only a couple of blocks away from where they work. They find out it’s a newly-opened business once they venture inside, a nice man with an odd scar across his nose escorting them to a table and handing them menus.

The two sit in complete silence as they scan the menus, abruptly interrupted only a minute later by a tall, blonde boy wearing what looks to be a ninja headband with the restaurant’s logo on it. His black t-shirt sports the same symbol as well as the shop’s name in eye-catching orange and blue font: _Ichiraku Ramen_. His voice is loud and grating as he greets Gaara and Sai, the redhead notices quickly. Gaara acts polite anyway, giving the hyperactive waiter his attention.

“Welcome to Ichiraku, the best ramen in Konoha! My name is Naruto, and I’ll be helping you with all your ramen-related needs!”

“Naruto?” Sai repeats, hardly giving him any time to finish his introduction. “You are named after a fish cake? How strange.”

“Believe it! Naruto Uzumaki.” Gaara notices the young man’s wide smile, his own cheeks aching vicariously just from looking at it. “Pretty fitting for a guy who works at a ramen shop, huh?”

“Yes, it is.” Sai agrees with one of his seemingly forced smiles. Gaara hides behind his menu, shielding the faint smirk that threatens to show itself from Sai’s remarks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a continuous WIP with a sporadic update schedule. Main work title may (probably will) change because I'm terrible with that kind of thing.  
> The first chapter is obviously just an intro as its title says because I felt I had to set up a few things due to it being a modern AU with no semblance of canon whatsoever.
> 
> Also, I had originally started this fic as just Kankukiba, and I was writing it in past tense, so there may be some switching back and forth between past and present tense in the beginning chapters (meaning I'm currently too lazy to go back and switch it to just one tense). Forgive me, please! lol
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated! <3


	2. Collide

“That character you’re working on is coming along great, Kankuro,” said Sakura. “I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.”

Kankuro looked down at the clay model in his hands with a proud grin. “Thanks. I was hoping to be done with him today, but I forgot they close the studio early on Fridays.”

Hinata pushed the door open and held it for Kankuro and Sakura as the three of them left the east wing of the art department building. Kankuro was neck deep in his current project for the fall semester. He would feel more stressed out about it if it weren’t for the fact this was his third year at the university. He’d had his fair share of looming deadlines in the past, but luckily, he was ahead of schedule for this assignment.

The film majors were doing a collaborative stop-motion animation project with some of the fine art majors, and Kankuro found out quickly that he and his 3-D art skills were in high demand when the project was assigned. He was very good with his hands, and fast too; easily bringing characters to life just from the simple sketches and ideas that were given to him by the student directors. He was also given the liberty of making the character models in his own style for his side of the project, so he was having fun with the creative process. It was only about a month into the semester and Kankuro was almost finished with the characters he was in charge of sculpting. Being proud of the work he’d done so far was entirely justified. 

“The weather is so nice today,” Hinata mentioned softly as the sun hit her face. Her friends agreed. It was practically perfect outside; a bright autumn afternoon that held crisp air and a gentle breeze. Other students were enjoying the good weather as well, some taking the opportunity to study and do their school work in the grass or at vacant picnic tables. There was even one student going for a run along the sidewalk with… his dog? Hinata remembered quickly that the boy was Kiba, her cousin’s roommate. As the navy-haired photography student heard her friends voices growing more distant as they chattered, she hurried to catch up with them.

“If you’re not busy, you can hang around with us until our next class,” Sakura offered to Kankuro.

He laughed quietly, “You just spent three hours with me and Hinata in the art building, and you aren’t even an art major. Don’t you have any important nurse stuff to be worried about?”

Sakura pouted as she gave Kankuro a scowl. “I’m trying to be nice, you know.”

“And I appreciate it, but I gotta get this guy home safely and grab some lunch,” Kankuro replied. “Can’t afford to buy it today… Struggling art student and what not. I’ll catch you guys later, though.”

With that, Kankuro split off from Sakura and Hinata, one hand keeping a steady hold on his sculpture while he waved goodbye to them with the other. As he turned to his left to continue down the sidewalk in the opposite direction, he could feel himself collide with something—or someone—moving much faster than he was. Kankuro caught himself before he could faceplant the pavement. However, his art piece wasn’t so lucky.

“Ugh, _fuck!_ ” he exclaimed, loud enough to catch the attention of the students in close proximity. His stomach dropped like a lead weight at the site of his hard work completely smashed on the ground. He’d bumped into the student running with his dog—someone Kankuro had never seen around this side of campus before. The stranger’s puppy moved to sniff at the broken clay on the ground. “No!”

“ _Akamaru_ ,” the unfamiliar boy warned firmly, giving the white dog’s leash a tug to steer him away from the ruined sculpture. “...I’m so sorry about that,” he said to Kankuro this time, worry laced in his tone. Sighing heavily, the art student haphazardly picked up the pieces of his now “dead” character from the sidewalk. There wasn’t much use in trying to save it. Kankuro glanced sideways at Hinata and Sakura to see their shocked faces before they’d walked too far away. He would have to vent about this to them later.

“Since when did they allow dogs on campus?” Kankuro grumbled, glaring at Akamaru with disdain, completely ignoring the dog’s harness. The white pup tilted his head at him, ears perked up, curious and attentive.

“He’s a service dog.”

Kankuro raised his eyes to look at the brunette stranger as he stood up straight, his frustration taking over.

Kankuro couldn’t help but notice the way the younger man was dressed _._ An old highschool soccer jersey, a pair of dark-colored running shorts that should _really_ not be that short, and— _What the hell is that on his head? A sweatband? Does this kid know what year it is?_

“He should watch where he’s going then.”

The runner’s eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, his brown eyes sizing up the person in front of him in a similar fashion. Kankuro was very obviously the complete opposite when it came to aesthetic. He was covered head to toe in black clothing, and the silver jewelry that was pierced through the bridge of his nose gleamed in the sunlight. He seemed to have a ring through his septum as well. “But... You ran into _me!_ ”

_Confrontation..._

_Abort._ **_Abort_ ** _._

“Maybe try a different route then, the next time you need to walk your mutt.” Kankuro said pointedly while avoiding eye contact. With an angry grunt, he reached up to fix the beanie on his head and stormed away.

“Wha—? But I go to school here! I’m literally going back to the dorms that are _right there!_ ” The freshman raised his voice to argue with a wild gesture of his hand, watching Kankuro’s black-clad figure leave in a hurry. What was this guy’s deal?

“This area is for the art majors, of which you are clearly not!” There was no doubt Kankuro was referencing the younger boys’ athletic appearance. Did he really look so out of place? Maybe, but he still had a right to use the sidewalk like everyone else.

Kiba scrunched up his nose in distaste and turned his head away, instead bringing his attention to his pup who was sitting patiently beside his feet. He instantly felt better.

“You aren’t a mutt, Akamaru... Don’t listen to that guy.” He crouched down, reaching into the pocket of the small fanny pack at his hip for a treat and feeding it to the white puppy before petting the silky fur on the top of his head. “...Maybe next time we’ll leave behind some dookie for him to step in. That’ll teach him not to be such a dick, won’t it, boy?”

When Kankuro arrived home, he placed his busted sculpture on his desk and immediately plopped into bed with a huff. His two cats meowed at him in protest as their peaceful sleep was disturbed. Sasori, a black Persian, stared Kankuro down with his big orange eyes while Suna, a hairless sphynx, adjusted her sleeping position and buried her wrinkly head in the older cat’s long fur for warmth.

“Don’t get mad at me,” Kankuro told both of them, mainly Sasori. He yanked his beanie off his head before tossing it blindly onto the floor. “This is _my_ bed.”

The black cat chirped when Kankuro pointed at him for emphasis, then went back to sleeping like he’d never been disturbed in the first place.

Kankuro pulled out his phone to text Sakura and Hinata like he’d told himself he’d do earlier, but quickly found that they both beat him to the punch. They had texted him moments after the collision.

**Today** 1:37 PM  
Sakura  
what the hell just happened!!!!  
Hinata  
Are u okay? :(  
Sakura  
I would have turned back to help but you seemed pretty pissed so I didnt want to get in the way  


Kankuro typed out a quick reply.

**Today** 1:54 PM  
it's okay Sakura. And yes I'm fine. my fucking project isnt though

He added a few angry and crying emojis to help get his point across, his stomach still heavy with the thought of having to redo hours of meticulous detail work.

Sakura  
you bumped into that guy pretty hard. I’m sorry your model was ruined. That sucks  
ill just have to do it over again. it’s not like I haven’t dropped shit before. do either of you guys know who the hell that was anyway? Thats the first time I’ve seen him. Which is weird because I feel like I should have seen him before if he has a DOG. Hinata  
His name is Kiba he’s a freshman. He’s on the soccer team with my cousin. I think he’s going to school here on a scholarship  
Sakura  
a friend of Neji’s… hmm  
Hinata  
I’ve never actually met him but I know they’re roommates. And the service dog thing is real, Neji told me really.. he didn’t seem to have anything wrong with him. I thought for sure the harness on that dog was fake and a scholarship? That explains why he acted like an entitled brat Sakura  
Kankuro ppl don’t always have problems that you can see. don’t be so mean im sorry!! He was a douche though. And he wore a SWEATBAND on his head Hinata  
definitely saw the sweatband lol Sakura  
well on the bright side at least he was cute **Today** 2:02 PM  
oh my god...... Sakura  
and those legs in those short shorts.. Sakura likey Sasuke might have some competition now please stop fuck Hinata  
hehehe

Kankuro set his phone down and turned his head sideways to bury his face in his pillow, attempting to rid his brain of the image of Kiba’s tan, lithe legs in his short shorts. His phone vibrated with several new notifications seconds later.

Sakura  
what Don't tell me you thought he was ugly Kankuro. i saw how red your face was when you looked at him

Kankuro violently typed out his next reply, cursing Sakura out loud for even thinking he could be attracted to that sweatband-wearing foot fairy.

“Fucking christ.”

I was fuckign pissed thats why I was red!!!! don’t gaslight me **Read** 2:05 PM

Kankuro shook his head and put his phone back in his pocket before getting up and walking to the kitchen. His frustration had distracted him from how hungry he was. He made himself a sandwich and defiantly ate it in the livingroom. Gaara, his younger brother, was a neat freak who constantly forbade that anyone eat food outside of the kitchen or dining nook. Kankuro was lucky Gaara was at work for the time being, unable to scold him for the crumbs he left behind on the couch.

Kankuro decided to skip the lecture he was supposed to have at 2:30 in order to make up part of the work lost from dropping his sculpture. _So much for being ahead of schedule…_

Sakura and Hinata had sent him a few more messages, but he didn’t bother to read or answer them. The last thing he needed while he worked was the reminder of the incident, as well as Sakura’s manipulative teasing about the possibility of finding Kiba cute.

Even if he did think he was, Kiba was far from Kankuro’s type. An athlete? And not to mention, a _freshman_ who was several years younger than he was. Pfft. _Hard_ pass. The guy was probably straight anyway.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

As Gaara leaves the shop in a hurry just after 4pm, Hidan catches him by the exit that leads to the parking lot out back. “Are we still on for tonight?” He asks, keeping his voice down. 

“Yes,” Gaara confirms, sharing a lingering moment of eye contact with his coworker. Hidan doesn’t hide his grin as his eyes grow dark and hungry.

“Good. I’ll be there at my usual time.” Gaara begins to walk toward his car that is parked nearby. The older man follows almost too close for the redhead’s comfort. Gaara unlocks the car door and before he can grip the handle, Hidan is already pulling it open for him. Wordlessly, Gaara gets in—a strong, dominant hand holding onto his shoulder as his back meets the seat, keeping him still. Hidan’s breath is heavy and warm against his ear as he leans in and Gaara tries not to shiver. His superior’s words leave his lips, practically growling, “Don’t have fun without me, kitten… You’ll regret it. Understand me?” Gaara knows what he means.

The redhead pushes his key into the ignition and starts his car without replying to the man beside him. He can feel Hidan’s devilish grin return without even needing to see it. The hand on Gaara’s shoulder loosens, raising up to grab under his chin and turn his head with an amount of force that makes Gaara’s heart race.

“See you later,” Hidan murmurs, his voice so sweet that it’s sickening. Gaara can feel his breath fan across his face just before their lips meet, and he closes his eyes, having known a kiss was coming. He doesn’t fight the dominant pair of lips pressing insistently against his own. In fact, he doesn’t _want_ to. Hidan was a good kisser, Gaara could openly admit, and letting that talent go to waste made no sense to either of them.

Hidan is the one to decide when the kiss ends, sloppily pulling away a minute later with a wet sound that echoes in Gaara’s ears. Gaara is ever-silent, especially now that his lips and tongue are tingling in the aftermath of Hidan’s rough snogging. Whether the tingling was from the minty piece of gum that had been shoved into his mouth by Hidan’s intrusive tongue, or the sheer exhilaration Gaara experienced from the other man’s actions, he wasn’t sure.

Finally, a pair of green eyes meet Hidan’s gaze.

“See you later…” Gaara says as he chews the gum, mimicking Hidan’s words from a few moments ago. Delighted, the bigger man purrs lowly and allows his hand to drop from Gaara’s chin, grabbing the seatbelt and giving it a tug before handing it to his subordinate. Their hands touch, rough warmth brushing against smooth, slender fingers. Gaara buckles in and turns away before Hidan can see the rosy color gracing his pale cheeks, reaching past him to pull the car door closed. 

Hidan lets him escape, but he watches him leave, already itching for the moment when he can see Gaara again.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Around 4:30pm, Gaara arrived at the apartment in a rush.

“Did Temari text you?” Gaara’s voice filtered through Kankuro’s bedroom door after a swift knock. Too focused on carving out an intricate detail into his clay model, Kankuro forgot to answer. Gaara pushed the door open with a sigh, poking his head into the room. “Hey. Did Temari text you?” the redhead repeated. The older man set down his sculpting tools and threw Gaara a suspicious glance before pulling out his cellphone to check.

**_5 new messages from Sakura_ **

**_4 new messages from Hinata_ **

“No, did she text you?”

“She says she’s dropping by around five,” Gaara said, his tone serious as usual but with an underlying hint of stress. He retreated back into the hall. “She wants us to meet her boyfriend.”

“A man actually agreed to date her?” Kankuro joked, getting up from his desk as he made himself laugh. “Poor guy.”

As Kankuro left his room to follow his sibling, he could see Gaara had already switched over into parent-mode, scrambling to pick up a few pieces of trash and the plate Kankuro used for his lunch not too long ago.

“A friend of this so-called boyfriend is also coming. They both go to your school... Maybe you know them?” Gaara inquired. Kankuro quickly shot down the idea.

“You know Temari doesn’t go for weirdos like us—and she certainly isn’t into girls, so I know for a fact I won’t know them.”

“Well regardless, could you please help me clean up this absolute disaster?” Gaara’s arms were now full of things to be thrown away or hidden from plain sight. “And make sure your demons haven’t left any new presents for you in their litter box.”

Kankuro recoiled in fake offense, picking up one of his dirty socks that somehow ended up on the livingroom floor. “I don’t know what you think you mean by ‘demons’, Gaara. My cats are angels.”

He could sense Gaara’s dramatic eye-roll even as the redhead scurried into the kitchen, and it made him laugh. “Temari has dealt with us her whole life, give or take a few years. Slight disarray isn’t going to bother her.”

The muffled sound of things being dumped in the trash can filled the short silence in the apartment. Gaara walked back out to the living room to stare down his pest of an older brother.

“We’ve dealt with _you_ our entire lives, Kankuro, and your 'slight disarray' bothers _me_. So, unless you’re planning on saving all of those crumbs you left on the couch for later, go get the vacuum and take care of them.” Gaara stood there unblinking, even after he was done speaking. He widened his eyes at Kankuro when he found his brother ignoring his instructions to emphasize his point.

“God,” Kankuro shivered, pretending to be disturbed by Gaara’s murderous expression. “How have they not made a horror movie about you yet? Creep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have a few things to hash out for chapter 3, but I will try my best to get it uploaded in a reasonable amount of time.
> 
> Let me know if I should make chapters longer or not, too! I feel like this chapter was shorter than I thought it was originally. As the story picks up, I'm sure the chapters will get longer as a result, so I'm sorry in advance if you are someone who prefers short chapters in fics. This is only the beginning, y'all ;)


	3. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dog Boy is in his house; the one place he thought he could be safe from ever encountering him. Maybe if Kankuro opened his eyes, he’d wake up and all of this will have just been a dream.
> 
> Kankukiba-centric chapter.

“Do you guys mind if I tag along?”

“I don’t care, but the dog has to stay.”

Kiba opened his mouth to protest, but got a glimpse of Temari’s power stance, her crossed arms telling him to let her have her way. Briefly, he wondered if that was how she got Shikamaru to date her. There was an air of authority about her that demanded she be listened to. The younger boy brought his eyes down to look at Akamaru. He’d probably be okay without him for a few hours. “Sorry, bud,” he frowned.

“SHIKAMARU!” Temari shouted not a second later, causing the two boys within her vicinity to jump. Akamaru let out a defensive bark while Neji sighed in annoyance from across the room.

“Yeah, yeah,” they heard Shikamaru say from behind the closed bathroom door. Perhaps he was stalling, trying to soak up his last seconds of solitude before Temari clung to him like lint. “I’m coming.”

“Kiba, I should warn you,” the blonde was back to her normal tone of voice. “My brothers are kind of… odd.”

Kiba only nodded, unsure of what “odd” entailed, but not bothering to ask. He’d find out soon enough.

“Jesus, Shikamaru, do you have to wear that ugly thing?”

“What?” he retorted as he walked up to her, looking down at the puffy, green vest he had on over his black turtleneck. “Would you rather I leave it here and risk getting cold?”

Temari reached for his hand to hold it and laced their fingers together. She pecked his cheek, making Shikamaru turn an embarrassing shade of red. “If it makes you flock to me for warmth, then yes. Now, come on. We’re already late.”

As Temari pulled Shikamaru toward the door to leave, Kiba quickly followed behind. His roommate looked back at him and stopped in the doorway, puzzled.

“Wait, you’re coming too?”  _What a drag. _

“Temari said it was fine, so I figured I’d try to make some more friends outside of the soccer team,” Kiba shot a glance toward Neji who wasn’t paying any attention, “unlike Rapunzel over there who would rather cut off his own foot than socialize with other people his age.” Shikamaru almost agreed with the sentiment, but Temari sensed it coming, her nails digging uncomfortably into the back of her boyfriend’s hand as she squeezed it much too hard.

“I heard that, you insolent furry,” Neji replied, pausing his rapid typing to lift a hand and give Kiba the middle finger.

“Take Akamaru out for a tinkle in an hour or two, please,” Kiba requested with a politeness that bordered on real.

Neji threw back the attitude without looking up from his textbook, already typing away on his laptop again. “Yes, dear.”

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Gaara is the one to answer the door as the trio arrive at the apartment. Kankuro stays put on the couch, less interested than his brother in making a good first impression on their guests.

“Hey, Gaara,” Temari says as she enters first, giving Gaara a loving, familial hug that makes him blush more red than his hair. They had just seen each other yesterday, but he knew Temari was never going to pass up a chance to embarrass her little brother. She and Kankuro were far too alike in that regard.

“This is Shikamaru,” she introduces him with a giddy smile, taking a small step aside so he can come in. Shikamaru, looking bored as ever, pulls a hand from his pocket for a courteous handshake.

“Pleasure to meet you.” Gaara’s grip on his hand is more timid than he meant for it to be, the two young men sizing each other up for a moment. From the couch, Kankuro sees how uncomfortable Shikamaru’s analytical gaze is making his brother.

“Same,” Shikamaru replies, his hand returning to his pants pocket.

“The other weirdo is over there,” Temari teases as she points at Kankuro who quickly gets up when all eyes are turned on him, fearful of his sister’s wrath if he doesn’t hurry up and introduce himself properly.

“Temari really caught you on her hook, huh?” he says jokingly as he walks up to Shikamaru. The younger man’s tense, judgemental stare softens to a more apprehensive one as Kankuro shakes his hand with a tight grip, almost threatening. Shikamaru knew it was on purpose, a stark contrast to the overly friendly smile Kankuro was giving him.  _ So he thinks he’s a funny guy... How irritating. _

“Shikamaru... Nice to meet you both,” he returns, now forced to avoid single-word responses. He clears his throat before anything can turn awkward and moves aside with Temari, allowing Kiba to enter the apartment. “Uh... This is my roommate and today’s designated third wheel, Kiba.”

Kankuro’s eyes land on the boy’s face before Shikamaru can even say his name, and his stomach hits the floor much like it had when they bumped into each other earlier in the day.

_ God, it’s him._

“Oh, hell no.” Kankuro interjects, the hand Kiba is extending for Gaara to shake retreating quickly. He stares at Kankuro, his expression reflecting the same shock.

“Of all people, it has to be you?” Kankuro closes his eyes, faintly shaking his head in disbelief. Dog Boy is in his house; the one place he thought he could be safe from ever encountering him. Maybe if he opened his eyes again, he’d wake up and all of this will have just been a dream.

His siblings and Shikamaru look at him in confusion.

“You know eachother?” Temari asks, utterly surprised. Gaara’s eyes flicker between Kankuro and Kiba, silently wondering the same thing.

“No. We don’t, but you could say we’ve run into each other before.”

Kiba rolls his eyes, and Gaara catches the animosity behind it as he mumbles, “You ran into me.”

Kankuro shares a mutual glare with Kiba for another agonizing moment, and then abruptly retreats to the safety of his bedroom down the hall. He shuts the door with emphasis.

“Uh, s-sorry about... that.” Temari stammers, apologizing to Kiba and Shikamaru. Red-faced and embarrassed, her blood slowly boils under the surface. Reprimanding her brother for being so rude would have to come later. She couldn’t risk ruining the first meeting with her family anymore than Kankuro had done already.

Kankuro sits back down at his desk with a huff, his brow tense as he stares at the broken sculpture he’d been so close to finishing.  _Unbelievable_ …

Sasori meows as he jumps up into Kankuro’s lap, rubbing his fluffy face against his arm and nudging his chest. Kankuro sighs, “I appreciate the comfort, but I really need to get back to work, buddy.”

Reluctantly lifting Sasori from his lap, he places him back down on the floor before scooting his chair closer to his work space. Sasori meows again, bumping his head against Kankuro’s calf as he circles his legs. He can hear the cat’s loud purring even from under the desk. “I’m fine, really.”

As Kankuro gets back to fixing his project, he turns on some music to drown out the sounds of the voices coming from the living room, particularly Temari’s. At first he wallows in his frustration, but eventually begins to feel bad for the way he’d been behaving. He was the rude one from the start, though it was painful to admit. He and Kiba were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was simply an accident. It sucked that it now set Kankuro back several long hours, but at least he has the means to fix the things that were broken.

Kankuro thinks back to the white dog that Kiba had with him, and how it looked up at him with those big, sad puppy dog eyes after being called a mutt. Hurting a persons feelings rarely made Kankuro feel guilty because usually they deserved it. Hurting an animal’s feelings… That was a different story.

Moments later, before the thoughts about Kiba can leave his mind, Kankuro hears a knock on his door. He assumes it’s Gaara coming to bug him about being so antisocial, so he gives an indifferent grunt to let him know he’s listening, pausing his music.

The door squeaks open and for a few seconds: silence.

“What is it, Gaara? ...I’m working.”

Another pause.

“...I, uh, wanted to apologize.” Kiba finally says, nervously clearing his throat as he stands in the doorway to Kankuro’s room. He tries his best not to look around the bedroom too blatantly, taking in the clutter and seemingly organized chaos.

“If I had known it was you, I would have locked my door and played dead instead of letting you in.” Kankuro muses flatly, barely looking over his shoulder at Kiba.

Kiba narrowly hides his grimace and opens his mouth to speak again, even though what he’s about to say will hurt his pride. “You were right... Earlier. I should have taken Akamaru somewhere else for his walk.”

Kiba takes a step into Kankuro’s room and the older boy hears the shuffle of his feet, tensing in his chair but not bothering to turn around or reprimand him for it.

_He’s… being nice to me. I should probably return the favor._ Kankuro fights with his own stubbornness for a moment, a mutual apology on the tip of his tongue—

“What’s your name, anyway?” The soccer player asks in order to break the silence again. “You ran away—twice, actually—before I had the chance to ask or find out.” He lets his eyes wander to all corners of the room now without hiding it. The purple-colored paint on the walls is a peculiar choice, he notes, but perhaps it’s fitting for such a person as the one living here. After a few more seconds of scanning some the decor of the bedroom, Kiba comes to the conclusion that the art student is less intimidating than he lets on. Kiba had already made his way past the threshold without getting himself beat up after all, so it was clear the guy was mostly bark and no bite.

“…It’s Kankuro,” he answers quietly, his hands focused on smoothing out some microscopic details on his clay model with a tool. Kiba continues to inch his way into the room and looks toward the bed next to Kankuro and his desk. The two cats curled up together catch his eye.

“So you  _ do _ like animals?” he starts, “...Or are you just one of those dog-hating, cat worshippers?” Clearly Kiba hadn’t forgotten about Kankuro mistreating Akamaru.

Upon hearing his mattress creak under the weight of Kiba’s body as he sits down on the edge, Kankuro sets his project and utensils down, spinning his chair toward his intruder and flashing him an annoyed look over the rim of his coffee mug as he picks it up, taking a conspicuous sip for dramatics. The coffee is hardly warm anymore and tastes terrible because of it, but he swallows what’s in his mouth anyway. He knew that was going to look better than spitting it back out into the cup.

“Go ahead, make yourself at home,” Kankuro mutters loud enough for the soccer player to hear, shaking his head as Sasori catches a whiff of Akamaru’s scent off Kiba’s hand and perks up. The long haired cat is cautious as he silently sniffs the stranger’s fingers, taking Kiba in with his big eyes for a long moment before beginning to purr loudly and allowing the young man to pet him. Kankuro’s shoulders slump, and Kiba notices it in his peripheral, smirking to himself.

_ My cat likes him? _ Kankuro thinks, setting his coffee back down.  _Great. _

“To answer your question, it depends. Are you a dog-obsessed, cat hater?”

“I don’t hate cats,” Kiba shakes his head lightly. “I just prefer dogs because I’ve been around them my whole life.”

“Speaking of, where’s the little mutt? Shouldn’t he be with you like, at all times or whatever?” Kankuro questions, trying to keep his tone lighthearted now that he’s pushed past his anger regarding the accident.

Kiba glances up from his lap where Sasori is now curled up, thoroughly enjoying being pet by his new friend. “Technically yes, but your sister didn’t seem to take a liking to him, so I left him at my dorm with Neji.”

Kankuro develops the urge to ask just what it was that Akamaru did for Kiba as a service animal, but he refrains, replying instead with, “Yeah, Temari can’t stand dogs. She hardly even likes cats… Sometimes I wonder how we’re related.”

The art student reaches for his coffee again and peers down at it, genuinely contemplating taking another swig even though he knows it will taste just as horrible as it did the first time. Kiba takes the opportunity to scan the room in even greater detail than before, searching for something he can talk about so the pair won’t be subjected to more uncomfortable silence.

“You like horror movies?” Kiba asks, noticing several movie posters hung up on the walls. The younger man wasn’t the biggest fan of horror movies himself, but if he could get Kankuro to talk about the things he liked, maybe he’d eventually forgive him for the destruction of his school project.

“Some of them,” Kankuro shrugs, his eyes moving to the poster that Kiba is currently looking at. Kiba twists around to gaze at the wall behind him. There’s a poster for the movie  _ Dead Silence, _as well as one for  _ Seed Of Chucky_.

“Don’t tell me you like dolls…”

Kankuro laughs heartily at Kiba’s weariness. “Just puppets,” he says, gesturing over his shoulder to the opposite corner of the room. Two strange looking figures hang from the ceiling by blue strings. The larger one with long, red horns stares down at Kiba with its creepy, yellow eyes. The other puppet’s head hangs at an angle, its disheveled brown hair covering most of its face, saving the soccer player from its gaze.

“Did you make those?”

“Yeah, I made them for my final last year.”

“Oh, cool. Are you gonna try to be the next Jim Henson?”

The mention of the famous puppeteer surprises Kankuro, though he isn’t sure if Kiba is just teasing him about his artistic inspirations because Henson is the most obvious one.

“Something like that,” Kankuro replies, a bit deflated. Without allowing much time for a pause, he then asks, “Do you interview everyone new that you meet? You ask a hell of a lot of questions.” The art student picks up his phone, texting Sakura and Hinata. 

**Today** 5:17 PM  
Dog boy is literally in my room right now

He receives an immediate response from his pink-haired friend.

Sakura  
WHAAAAAT????

Kiba chuckles, and Kankuro finds himself grinning, though he isn’t sure if it’s from the sound of Kiba’s laugh, or Sakura’s dramatics.

“No, I just interrogate the people I find interesting.”

“Oh, so I’m interesting to you? Should I be flattered?” Kankuro raises an eyebrow at his acquaintance. “Is it my piercings? Or maybe the way I dress?” He quickly types another text while Kiba isn’t looking.

**Today** 5:19 PM  
he’s on my bed if you can believe that Sakura  
NO WAY WTF Hinata  
omg!! Sakura  
I need context NOW.

Kankuro swallows a laugh as he sneaks a photo of Kiba, who is unaware, his attention focused back on the cats that have taken a strong liking to him. He sends it and quickly puts his phone on silent, then into his pocket, anticipating the explosion of notifications from Sakura. 

“You certainly don’t scare me, so yeah, take it as a compliment.” Kiba looks up and grins at Kankuro, a toothy smile that shows off his abnormally prominent canines. Kankuro quickly averts his eyes from the younger man’s face as his own features flush with a faint heat, his stomach somersaulting violently. 

_...Shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished up this chapter after what feels like 10 years.


End file.
